Ireland’s agri-food sector saw strong performance in the dairy and tillage industries last year, according to Teagasc, the state agency for agriculture and food development. However, beef and sheep production declined, reflecting mixed results across the country’s farming sectors.
The report highlights that favourable weather at sowing and harvesting contributed to good crop yields in 2025. Despite this, falling grain prices compared to 2024 limited income growth for tillage farms. Average tillage-farm incomes rose modestly to €47,200, a change largely driven by income from associated livestock enterprises rather than crop sales alone.
Dairy farms experienced robust growth, with milk production rising by 5 percent. Teagasc credited the increase to excellent grass growth, optimal grazing conditions, and improvements in genetics through the Economic Breeding Index. Combined with higher milk prices for much of the year and income from calves and cull cows, dairy farm incomes reached an estimated average of €137,000. This growth occurred despite a 1.5 percent decline in dairy cow numbers, which have fallen slightly for two consecutive years after rising annually since 2009.
A notable development in the dairy sector was the use of beef sires in calf production. In 2025, 63 percent of dairy calves were registered to a beef sire, reflecting greater use of sexed semen and dairy-beef breeding strategies. Teagasc indicated that controlling high milk production costs will be a focus for farmers in 2026 due to current milk price pressures.
Beef farming also saw improvements in income, with both suckler and dairy beef farms benefiting from higher prices, even as production volumes fell. Prime cattle slaughterings dropped by around 100,000 head, an 8 percent decline from 2024, although increased average carcass weights partially offset the loss. Suckler-cow numbers continued to fall, with 29,000 fewer calf registrations in 2025. The share of prime beef cattle from the dairy herd rose, accounting for 62 percent of total prime slaughterings.
Sheep farming recorded higher incomes in 2025, averaging €36,500, driven mainly by improved lamb prices. Favourable spring weather and mid-season grass growth in western regions supported production, though ewe numbers fell by 2.8 percent and lamb throughput through processors dropped by 17 percent.
The Teagasc study, titled Achievements 2025: Progress with Innovation, Sustainability and Technical Performance in the Agri-Food Sector, also examined environmental impacts. Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions have fallen annually since 2022, with a 4.6 percent reduction by 2024 compared to 2018. Provisional estimates indicate a further 0.6 percent decrease by the end of September 2025, mainly due to lower cattle numbers.
Water quality trends remain mixed. While overall surface water quality showed a slight decline, phosphorus concentrations in priority action areas improved, averaging 22 percent below the “good status” environmental standard of 0.035 mg/l.
Teagasc’s report underscores the challenges and successes across Irish agriculture, showing strong growth in dairy and tillage but ongoing pressures in beef and sheep sectors, alongside continuing efforts to reduce environmental impacts.
